Boehmite

/ˈbeɪmaɪt/ noun

Definition

A mineral form of aluminum oxide hydroxide (AlO(OH)) that is a major ore of aluminum and an important raw material in the production of alumina.

Etymology

Named after Johann Böhm, a 19th-century German chemist and mineralogist. The suffix '-ite' (Greek '-itēs') is a common mineralogical suffix indicating a mineral type. Named when the mineral was first identified and classified in crystallography.

Kelly Says

Boehmite is one of the three main ore minerals that give us aluminum—every aluminum can, every aluminum aircraft, every aluminum foil began as boehmite or similar minerals! It's essentially crystallized aluminum waiting to become useful, discovered through 19th-century mineralogical science.

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